China to require Web filters on all PCs

Less than a week after blocking access to a host of prominent web services in preparation for the 20th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre, multiple media sources are reporting that on July 1 China will begin requiring all computers sold in the country to come equipped with Internet filtering software.

The Chinese government is promoting the policy as an attempt to protect children from pornographic or other harmful content, but critics worry that it will give authorities even greater abilities to monitor and control Chinese Internet users. On Monday Reporters Without Borders issued a statement condemning the plan as a "threat to free expression" and urging computer manufacturers "not to comply with the instruction, which will make them accomplices to censorship."